HOUSTON — The Houston Dynamo’s best win of the season so far came at the expense of their opponent this weekend: D.C. United.

Houston dominated DC 4-1 on April 29 in front of a
capacity crowd, and on national television, and the Dynamo are certainly
under the assumption DC has not forgotten. The two teams meet in the final match of their regular season series Saturday night at RFK
Stadium (5 pm CT, TeleFutura).

“One thing you can say is that any time a team gets beat, the next time
the game comes around they’re going to be ready for you and very
motivated,” Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear said.

Added midfielder Geoff Cameron: “We know they’re going to come out hard
because I’m sure they remember that result, so I’m sure they’re going
play hard. It’s the same with us. We can’t go in there lightly because
of the last result.”

United has shown steady improvement since that game under head coach
Ben Olsen, dropping just one match in their last seven since the trip to
Houston. That run has been fueled by an improved defense and the
growing relationship between forwards Charlie Davies and Josh Wolff.

“I’m sure they’ve looked back at that game and seen why they didn’t do
well, and have tried to correct those errors,” Kinnear said. “I think
they’ve gotten better. You have your highs and lows as a team, but you
grow and mature and I think Ben’s done well for them.”

While DC has made improvements, the Dynamo are looking back to pick
out some keys to future success. The four-goal explosion — spearheaded
by rookie Will Bruin’s hat trick — was the season’s best for Houston.

With the team struggling over the past few weeks, a return to that performance
could provide some clues to Houston getting back on track.

“If you want to look back at that game you can see what we did while we were successful,” Kinnear said.

Added goalkeeper Tally Hall: “It’s a simple game and I think we’ve made
it too hard on ourselves, and we’ve been punished for it. We haven’t
gotten a road win and it’s bugging me, and I know it’s bugging
everyone.”

Darrell Lovell covers the Houston Dynamo for MLSsoccer.com. Follow him on twitter at @Dynamoexaminer.